1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a wear plate that is specifically designed for convenient and removable installation in the pedestal opening of a railway side frame in order to prevent or minimize wear on the load bearing surface of the pedestal.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In railway vehicles it is common for a bearing adapter to be provided over the axle bearing. The bearing adapter often has a slightly arcuate top surface which bears directly against a corresponding downwardly facing surface in the pedestal opening of the vehicle side frame. In many installations, a clip-on wear plate is attached to the bottom side of the pedestal opening so it rests on the top surface of the bearing adapter when the pedestal is installed on the bearing adapter on the axle bearing. The prior clip-on wear plates, for their installation, rely on the flexure of the bottom surface of the wear plate which is the portion of the wear plate that supports the downwardly facing surface in the pedestal opening.
In service, it is noticed that all current wear plates designs disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,897,736, 4,203,371, 4,428,303, and 6,234,083, despite being easy to install and remove, are prone to cracking, chipping and breaking, leading to the need to replace them often. Removal and replacement of a wear plate is costly as the rail car must be removed from service and jacked to provide access to the wear plate.
A need exists for an improved wear plate that overcomes the tendencies to crack, chip and break, and which has an improved wear cycle.